Slower speeds on the interstate might just get you home faster. At least that’s what traffic engineers in Atlanta hope. In a new program that has already shown some success in Washington State, computer controlled variable speed limit signs are being added to the northern portion of I-285; otherwise known as the perimeter highway that circles the city of Atlanta. Continue Reading

Safety officials are proposing a ban on hand-held cellphone use while driving in the City of Austin Texas. If passed by the city council, the proposal would make it illegal to talk, text or use a cellphone behind the wheel of a vehicle. Drivers could still use their cellphone to call 911.

What these officials don’t seem to realize is that it isn’t the act of holding a cell phone in your hand while driving that’s dangerous, it’s the act of carrying on a cellphone conversation while driving. Several studies have shown that whether the phone is hand-held or hands-free, the dangers are still the same because the problem stems from what the brain is doing and not the hands. Continue Reading

In May, we posted on the fact that there is no federal law requiring used-car dealers to repair cars that have been recalled. Often, used-car buyers are not informed that the vehicle they are buying has been recalled or that there may be serious safety defects on the vehicle. New York City, strictly following a state law that requires all vehicles to be safe and roadworthy, is imposing new rules on used-car dealers requiring that recalled vehicles in their inventory be repaired before they can be sold to the public. Read more: New York City Imposes a Used-Car Repair Rule

States with primary laws banning texting while driving have shown a reduction in traffic deaths as opposed to those states with secondary laws or no texting law at all according to a study published by the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. States with secondary anti-texting laws showed no significant reduction in traffic deaths. Deaths among the 15 to 21 year old age group were reduced by 11 percent. Continue Reading

In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers looked at traffic deaths in 48 states over a ten year period (2000-2010) and compared traffic deaths in states with texting bans to states without. In those states with texting bans, they compared traffic fatalities within the state before and after the texting ban went into effect. For states with primary anti-texting laws, the results are positive. Read more: The impact of texting laws on motor vehicle fatalities

DUI deaths in 2011 fell below 10,000 for the first time but, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, DUI fatalities increased by almost five percent. Read more: The battle against impaired driving rages on

A new bill passed into law and signed by the governor of Florida makes important changes to the Florida Move Over Law. In addition to police, fire, and tow trucks, HB 7005 adds sanitation vehicles and utility service vehicles to the Move Over Law. Florida’s Move Over Law requires that motorists approaching an emergency vehicle such as police, fire ambulance, or tow truck and, beginning July 1st, sanitation and utility service vehicles with their emergency lights flashing to move over into the lane opposite the emergency vehicle or, if moving over isn’t possible, to slow to 20 mph under the posted speed limit. The deaths of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in May and a tow truck operator on June 28th, shows the importance of this law.

Comparing figures from the first five months of this year, after the legalization of marijuana, to data from the same period last year, a Colorado detox facility has seen a significant rise in the number of DUI arrests for marijuana users. Despite public safety campaigns, it seems that many aren’t getting the word that, while it may be legal to use marijuana, it’s still illegal to drive while high. Read more: Detox Network Sees Pot DUIs Spike in Colorado After Legalization

Researchers in Germany are working on a system that allows drivers to control a car with their minds. In tests using the system, test subjects “drive” at speeds up to 30 mph with their hands in their laps, braking and making turns with their thoughts alone. If developed, this system could allow a new source of freedom to the disabled but there’s no place for a distracted driver behind the wheel. Read more: Mind-control: ‘I drove a car with my thoughts’